I-95

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published
12:00 am EST, Tuesday, March 30, 2004

Connecticut's Department of Transportation is performing miracles in the aftermath of Thursday night's tanker fire on Interstate 95. Sunday night, days earlier than predicted, the northbound lanes on an overpass in Bridgeport reopened. DOT workers waved at motorists and the motorists waved back as traffic moved once again on that section of I-95. The pride of those working on the project is infectious. The southbound lanes are still closed. The tanker truck crashed and burst into flames. The fire was so hot the supports of the southbound section of the overpass began to melt. DOT is installing a temporary bridge for the southbound lanes. At the moment, predictions are that the temporary bridge will be useable in a few days. Eventually, the I-95 overpass will need to be permanently replaced. But that should not be the only permanent outcome of this accident. Connecticut is a small state, and tends to take its inadequate road network and lack of adequate public transportation for granted. The closing of a portion of I-95, however, illustrates the state's vulnerability when it comes to transportation. I-95 and Interstate 84 carry a volume of traffic they cannot handle. Connecticut has numerous rail lines, but many are no longer used. In response to the I-95 shutdown, passengers turned to the Metro North commuter railroad system. Metro North, of course, was in no position to handle emergency demand. It had problem after problem during the winter season. It didn't have enough functioning rail cars to meet normal demand. A few years ago, the state's Transportation Strategy Board actually considered adding a second deck to I-95 as a means of improving transportation in southern Connecticut. That proposal died long before the laughter. A two-tier I-95? What kind of strategy is that? Connecticut's state budget problems have gotten in the way of real strategies for transportation, but so has business as usual. Improvements are needed for I-95 and I-84. But continually widening highways is not the answer. Ferries that operate in Long Island Sound showed their value after the I-95 accident, adding to their schedules to accommodate demand. Thanks to the quick work of DOT, the I-95 crash turned out to be less of a crisis than first believed. But the avoidance of a serious crisis should not keep Connecticut from planning for one."What this shows is this thin and delicate strand of pavement is what Connecticut's economy hangs on," said state Sen. William Nickerson, R-Greenwich. "The collapse of the bridge will be an exclamation point to tell us how vital it is to get on with the business of building a diversified transportation system that is less I-95 reliant."